


canvas

by httpsasukes



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Beaches, Because fuck canon, Established Eremika, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Multi, i have no idea how it happened, it just did, jean & marco & connie are playing 1v2 tag in the bg
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-18 22:49:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29990028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/httpsasukes/pseuds/httpsasukes
Summary: there’s a familiarity in that question, the same one that comes along with the unspeakable way she smiles.
Relationships: Armin Arlert/Annie Leonhart, Krista Lenz | Historia Reiss/Ymir, Mikasa Ackerman/Eren Yeager, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Sasha Blouse/Niccolo
Comments: 1
Kudos: 58





	canvas

“i never really thought i’d last this long.”

he feels mikasa’s attention transition from her gaze on the colourful sunset, blue and orange hues mixing into additional pink and purple shades, to a concerned expression. he can’t see it, as his face is hidden in the comfort of her arms and chest and his brown hair is all she’s able to see, but he can just feel her eyes on him.

they’re lying on the sand with their legs practically knotted with each other’s. there’s an odd comfort he feels when he’s with her; he’s used to it, eren muses, and he can’t help but feel like he shouldn’t be. it is not his position to feel so joyful, especially with someone like mikasa ackerman, someone who’s always been good at everything all the way to how she dresses to how strikingly well she’s able to hide her own feelings.

though they’ve always been a presence in one another’s lives _(childhood friends — that title feels oddly wicked but he can’t place exactly why)_ , something about the way she speaks his name with the wind carrying it along its journey and the way she always keeps that red bracelet he gave her when they were nine year old kids running around in random fields of grass feels oddly sentimental. 

sometimes, he feels like those are things that belong in another universe, oddly enough. things that should’ve correlated in one world. things that should’ve ended when the person’s life did.

and yet.

“what do you mean?” she mumbles, the words barely heard over the roaring laughter ymir gives out expanding through the atmosphere, cradling his body with such softness and care and he thinks he could float on cloud nine if he allowed himself to.

eren pauses before he gives out a sigh. “i don’t really know, mika. the work they give us is way too much.” he settles on, and it’s partially the truth. there’s been multiple occasions where he’s had to refrain himself from yelling out of anger while trying to complete an assignment because who fucking cares about geography.

“eren—“ there it is again.

there should be nothing special about the way she says his name, it’s really just her accent. but it seems so fitting when she says it compared to when annie or marco do, and it drives him crazy because he doesn’t know why.

“—it’s okay. studies are hard, i get it. the pressure school was giving us was overdo and i’m glad highschool’s done even though college will be an abomination, probably.” except she doesn’t.

she’s always been naturally good at things, and it used to anger him so goddamn much. 

although he’s gotten past that, he can’t deny that the constant questioning was rough to both his ego and their relationship.

why was she so much better? would he get left behind? _why is she staying with him?_

colours of blue and green, contrary to the deepening rays of red and orange and yellow and pink and everything warm setting, just like her, seemed to compliment each other, really.

he feels like he’s fifteen again.

he feels like he’s being constricted by something, rather than her arms, it’s leather latching onto his clothes and he hears the sharpening sound of a sword being thrusted out in place of connie’s complaints. eren hears shouts — bravery, scare? — ringing in his ears.

he opens his eyes when he feels the blood fade away into mikasa’s hands reaching up to cup his face and he finds out he’s shut his eyes closed.

“why...”

eren keeps his emerald eyes on her grey-violet ones.

“why are you crying?”

upon hearing that, his eyes widen a fraction, but it’s not that he’s surprised about. he looks down to see her deep red & black shirt sprinkled along with darker patches from his tears; no, it’s not the fact that he was crying in the middle of the beach with the girl who makes him feel full that surprised him.

there’s a familiarity in that question, the same one that comes along with the unspeakable way she smiles.

has she said that to him before?

no. he wouldn’t be so surprised at a mundane question.

then why...

mikasa holds him a bit tighter and the tips of his ears start burning redder and redder.

with a peck on his nose, she continues to mumble “it’s okay, it’s okay,” like a breathless prayer, it’s then that’s when he realizes she’s crying too.

_you showed me... how to live with purpose._

_thank you._

_i feel like... i just had a long dream._

a scream from jean a few feet away from him brings him back to reality, and he blinks, once, twice, until he can’t count anymore.

he swears he feels skin pulling from under his eyes, but when he reaches up to wipe his tears, there’s nothing but salty water.

they sit there for a few more seconds, eren trying to collect his thoughts, and he suspects mikasa’s trying to collect hers as well.

“they really are like children, huh,” mikasa says before planting a kiss on the top of his head.

eren turns around to see marco and jean chasing connie with constant shouting erupting from all three of them. sasha and niccolo are in their own little world, dancing like maniacs — ymir and historia, on the other hand, are slow dancing to a non existent tune, smiles gracing their faces.

annie and armin are positioned similarly to mikasa and him, but instead of on the sand, their legs are close enough to the water for it to crash against them while watching reiner and bertholdt swim.

eren slowly starts to smile at the scene before him.

“yeah. but i think they’re having fun.”

mikasa hums in agreement. “they look pretty free right now.”

he turns his head back to look at her, a full grin on his face, before wiping the tears off of hers.

she seems to get what he’s about to say but before she could open her mouth to complain, he’s already standing up and dragging her with him.

the sunset is in full effect now, armin’s ranting about the blue-ish body of water can be heard if you listen close enough above niccolo’s hellish screams from sasha accidentally stepping on his foot and sasha profusely apologizing with a kiss on his chin. her black hair swishes with the wind every time he spins her, and mikasa ackerman’s just as beautiful as she always is with her red bracelet and her secretive smile, dark eyes burning with amusement and adoration.

and they seem much more lighter than they would have been long, long ago.


End file.
